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In Florida, Lewis Brisbois Dramatically Expands, Building Its Commercial and Insurance Practices

Florida (November 1, 2018) - Lewis Brisbois, the 9th largest law firm in the country, and the largest California-based firm, has been known for almost 40 years as one of the top corporate defense firms in America. But in Florida, where Lewis Brisbois now has three offices (in Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, and Miami), a team of commercially-minded lawyers has been growing the firm’s Business Practices Group as well.

“I believe we have the fastest growing middle market corporate finance and M&A practice in the country right now,” says Fort Lauderdale Managing Partner Michael G. Platner, who chairs the firm’s national Business Practices Group, and is also chair of Lewis Brisbois’ Corporate Practice as well as co-chair of their Securities & Corporate Finance Practice. “We have added more than 20 deals and commercial litigation lawyers in Fort Lauderdale alone in the last several years.”

Just six years ago, Lewis Brisbois, which currently has over 1,300 attorneys in 44 offices across 26 states, only had about 25 lawyers practicing in the State of Florida. By the end of 2018, Mr. Platner expects they’ll have close to a hundred between the three Florida offices, with a significant portion working on commercial matters for clients, both in the state and across the U.S.

The Florida group is now drawing on the firm’s national bench of talent for corporate deals, providing comprehensive advice on the wide range of issues that come up during a deal, and utilizing the firm’s extensive geographic footprint to serve clients with national and regional business interests.

The firm also has a nationwide approach to billing rates, charging “Kansas City rates” from Miami to LA and New York, which makes the firm particularly attractive to growing middle market, lower-middle market, and emerging growth companies.

Recently, a Lewis Brisbois team, composed of 11 partners (including Mr. Platner) and three associates from five different offices, closed on the sale of a Connecticut-based private jet engine company, advising on a variety of areas including M&A, real property, tax, employment, environmental and regulatory matters. This type of complex deal is exactly what Mr. Platner says is helping fuel the growth of the firm and an increase in opportunities for experienced legal talent that has been attracted to the firm.

In Miami, Office Managing Partner and nationally recognized trial lawyer Todd R. Ehrenreich and his team are continuing the Lewis Brisbois tradition of defending corporate America. Since opening in January 2017, Mr. Ehrenreich and his team have quickly made Lewis Brisbois a go-to defense firm in the Miami market, and they expect to continue to grow in the coming years.

“As an office, we’ve tripled in size since we first opened our doors,” said Mr. Ehrenreich, “but the growth hasn’t just been for growth’s sake. Recent hires show that we’re taking a strategic approach in Miami, with [Partner] David Luck joining to build up our appellate practice, and [Partner] Jessica Forbes coming on board to assist [Administrative Partner] Seth Alhadeff with our coverage litigation practice.”

Office Managing Partner John A. Rine took the reins of Lewis Brisbois’ Tampa office in May 2017. Following a recent relocation to a new space in the iconic SunTrust building in downtown Tampa, Mr. Rine has moved to aggressively build up the office’s general liability practice, also nearly tripling its size in just over a year.

“We’ve come a long way in a short period,” said Mr. Rine, who focuses his practice on hospitality and transportation, “and we’re diversifying our practice portfolio as well.”

In addition to Tampa’s deep general liability bench, the office has recently expanded its number of lawyers practicing under Partner Jason D. Hall in first-party property and insurance coverage (one of Lewis Brisbois longest-standing practices). It has also recently added Partners David S. Harvey, Jr, a board-certified labor & employment attorney, and Jonathan Kepko, a construction defect litigation attorney previously working out of the firm’s San Francisco office. Longtime Corporate Partner Steven Holtzman is also based in Tampa and works closely with Mr. Platner and others in the Business Practices Group across the firm.

“Something exciting is happening here at Lewis Brisbois in Florida,” says Mr. Platner. “We are bringing the experience and savvy of a national firm to this market, without the hourly rate inflation of many top firms. The integration of our Business Practices Group with our existing healthcare and general liability defense practices enables all of our Florida offices to provide a full-service delivery platform for our clients.”

“We are filling a gap, serving a wide audience of companies of all types and sizes in Florida… It is easy to imagine a presence here someday that’s as large as the one we have in California.”

For more information on Lewis Brisbois’ Business Practices Group and Florida practices, contact Mr. Platner, Mr. Rine, or Mr. Ehrenreich directly. Visit our Careers page to find opportunities for you to join the Lewis Brisbois team.


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